University of Missouri Kansas City Official Athletics Website

(Kansas City, Mo.) - The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats proved why they were ranked 16th in NCAA Division II on Wednesday, ending the UMKC men's tennis winning streak at four, and taking a tight 4-3 victory.

Kansas City (7-14) came out strong in doubles play, snatching the momentum with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 matches, 8-3 and 8-5, respectively.

The Bearcats (14-3) grabbed that momentum right back though, taking wins at No. 6 and No. 3 to start singles play, making it 2-1.

Sophomore Andrey Smirnov continued his strong play though, and evened the dual at 2-2 with a straight set win at the No. 2 spot.

The final three matches left were extremely tight, but NWMSU took the 3-2 advantage when Julien Couronne won a three-set contest at the No. 5 position.

Tomas Patino battled hard at No. 1, but lost a tight two set match that was separated by only a few key points, 7-5, 7-6. The Sergio DeVinchez win clinched it for the Bearcats, but just minutes later, Vinh Pham finished off his match at No. 4, coming back from a set down to take the victory 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. He finished the day 2-0 after winning doubles as well at No. 2.

Kansas City will now have the weekend off as it prepares for next week's WAC Championships on April 25-27 in Las Cruces, N.M. The seeds will be released next week by the league office.

Northwest Missouri 4, Kansas City 3
Apr 16, 2014 at Kansas City, Mo. (Plaza Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. DeVilchez,Sergio (NWMSU) def. Tomas Patino (UMKC) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)

2. Andrey Smirnov (UMKC) def. Boissinot,Romain (NWMSU) 6-4, 7-5

3. Riveros,Alvaro (NWMSU) def. Mike Psarros (UMKC) 6-3, 6-3

4. Vinh Pham (UMKC) def. Altimires,Lluis (NWMSU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2

5. Couronne,Julien (NWMSU) def. Uldis Gaismins (UMKC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0

6. Glowick,Fin (NWMSU) def. Jai Grewal (UMKC) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Mike Psarros/Tomas Patino (UMKC) def. DeVilchez,Sergio/Clews,Amery (NWMSU) 8-3

2. Conner Edwards/Vinh Pham (UMKC) def. Riveros,Alvaro/Altimires,Lluis (NWMSU) 8-5

3. Boissinot,Romain/Couronne,Julien (NWMSU) def. Uldis Gaismins/Andrey Smirnov (UMKC) 8-3

Match Notes

Northwest Missouri 14-3

Kansas City 7-14

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,2,5,1,4)

T-3:35 A-25

Bearcats End 'Roos Streak in Tight Match, 4-3